The present invention relates to a shopping bag that can be used as a file holder in which papers, documents, and the like can be stored, and that can be used as a slim-object carry bag in which relatively thin materials can be retained if the bag will no longer be used as a shopping bag.
It is a common practice for a store to put into a shopping bag a product that a customer has bought. Often stores offers shopping bags on which are printed an attractive design favored by customers and/or a brand mark unique to each store. Such bags are sometimes reused by customers as a daily-use carry bag. The prior-art inventions for reuse of a shopping bag are disclosed, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in which if the shopping bag will no longer be used for carrying something, it is transformed to be used as an envelope, a document file, a book jacket, and the like. In the prior-art inventions, after an envelope or a document file has been created from a shopping, the remaining part of the bag is discarded as trash.
However, there is a need for a convenient way to hold and carry a large envelope and/or other materials. For example, when a large envelope into which a thick document such as a catalog to be presented to a client has been put is being carried, if the envelope is directly held by a hand of the person carrying the envelope, the envelope might get stained by sweat and/or oil from the carrier's hand, or the envelope might get wrinkled because it is firmly held by the carrier. Accordingly, there is a need for a convenient bag-like item that can be used to hold and carry large envelopes and that is not as bulky as a briefcase or a paper bag, and that can be folded to be put into a coat pocket after use.